The Former Philippines thru Foreign Eyes Part 11

[Pirate outrages.] The interior of the country is difficult to traverse from the absence of roads, and the coasts are much infested by pirates. Quite recently several pontins and four schooners, laden with abaca, were captured, and the crews cruelly murdered, their bodies having been cut to pieces. This, however, was opposed to their general practice, for the captives are usually employed at the oars during the continuance of the foray, and afterwards sold as slaves in the islands of the Sulu sea. It was well that we did not encounter the pirates, for, although we carried four small cannons on board, n.o.body understood how to use them. [164]

[Electing officers.] The governor, who was expected to conduct the election of the district officials in person, but was prevented by illness, sent a deputy. As the annual elections are conducted in the same manner over the whole country, that at which I was present may be taken as typical of the rest. It took place in the common hall; the governor (or his deputy) sitting at the table, with the pastor on his right hand, and the clerk on his left--the latter also acting as interpreter; while Cabezas de Barangay, the gobernadorcillo, and those who had previously filled the office, took their places all together on benches. First of all, six cabezas and as many gobernadorcillos are chosen by lot as electors; the actual gobernadorcillo is the thirteenth, and the rest quit the hall. After the reading of the statutes by the president, who exhorts the electors to the conscientious performance of their duty, the latter advance singly to the table, and write three names on a piece of paper. Unless a valid protest be made either by the parish priest or by the electors, the one who has the most votes is forthwith named gobernadorcillo for the coming year, subject to the approval of the superior jurisdiction at Manila; which, however, always consents, for the influence of the priest would provide against a disagreeable election. The election of the other functionaries takes place in the same manner, after the new gobernadorcillo has been first summoned into the hall, in order that, if he have any important objections to the officers then about to be elected, he may be able to make them. The whole affair was conducted very quietly and with dignity. [165]

[Unsatisfactory forced labor.] On the following morning, accompanied by the obliging priest, who was followed by nearly all the boys of the village, I crossed over in a large boat to Samar. Out of eleven strong baggage porters whom the governor's representative had selected for me, four took possession of some trifling articles and sped away with them, three others hid themselves in the bush, and four had previously decamped at Lauang. The baggage was divided and distributed amongst the four porters who were detained, and the little boys who had accompanied us for their own pleasure. We followed the sea-sh.o.r.e in a westerly direction, and at a very late hour reached the nearest visita (a suburban chapel and settlement) where the priest was successful, after much difficulty, in supplying the places of the missing porters. On the west side of the mouth of the Pambujan a neck of land projects into the sea, which is a favorite resort of the [A pirate base.] sea-pirates, who from their shelter in the wood command the sh.o.r.e which extends in a wide curve on both sides, and forms the only communication between Lauang and Catarman. Many travellers had already been robbed in this place; and the father, who was now accompanying me thus far, had, with the greatest difficulty, escaped the same danger only a few weeks before.

The last part of our day's journey was performed very cautiously. A messenger who had been sent on had placed boats at all the mouths of rivers, and, as hardly any other Europeans besides ecclesiastics are known in this district, I was taken in the darkness for a Capuchin in travelling attire; the men lighting me with torches during the pa.s.sage, and the women pressing forward to kiss my hand. I pa.s.sed the night on the road, and on the following day reached Catarman (Caladman on Coello's map), a clean, s.p.a.cious locality numbering 6,358 souls, at the mouth of the river of the same name. Six pontins from Catbalogan awaited their cargoes of rice for Albay. The inhabitants of the north coast are too indifferent sailors to export their products themselves, and leave it to the people of [Catbalogan monopoly of interisland traffic.] Catbalogan, who, having no rice-fields, are obliged to find employment for their activity in other places.

[A changed river and a new town.] The river Catarman formerly emptied further to the east, and was much choked with mud. In the year 1851, after a continuous heavy rain, it worked for itself, in the loose soil which consists of quartz sand and fragments of mussels, a new and shorter pa.s.sage to the sea--the present harbor, in which ships of two hundred tons can load close to the land; but in doing so it destroyed the greater part of the village, as well as the stone church and the priest's residence. In the new convent there are two salons, one 16.2 by 8.8, the other 9 by 7.6 paces in dimensions, boarded with planks from a single branch of a dipterocarpus (guiso). The pace is equivalent to 30 inches; and, a.s.suming the thickness of the boards, inclusive of waste, to be one inch, this would give a solid block of wood as high as a table (two and one-half feet), the same in breadth, eighteen feet in length, and of about one hundred and ten cubic feet. [166] The houses are enclosed in gardens; but some of them only by fencing, within which weeds luxuriate. At the rebuilding of the village, after the great flood of water, the laying out of gardens was commanded; but the industry which is required to preserve them is often wanting. Pasture grounds extend themselves, on the south side of the village, covered with fine short gra.s.s; but, with the exception of some oxen and sheep belonging to the priest, there are no cattle.

[Up the river.] Still without servants, I proceeded with my baggage in two small boats up the river, on both sides of which rice-fields and coco-groves extended; but the latter, being concealed by a thick border of Nipa palms and lofty cane, are only visible occasionally through the gaps. The sandy banks, at first flat, became gradually steeper, and the rock soon showed itself close at hand, with firm banks of sandy clay containing occasional traces of indistinguishable petrifactions. A small mussel [167] has pierced the clay banks at the water-line, in such number that they look like honeycombs. About twelve we cooked our rice in an isolated hut, amongst friendly people. The women whom we surprised in dark ragged clothing of guinara drew back ashamed, and soon after appeared in clean chequered sayas, with earrings of bra.s.s and tortoise-sh.e.l.l combs. When I drew a little naked girl, the mother forced her to put on a garment. About two we again stepped into the boat, and after rowing the whole night reached a small visita, Cobocobo, about nine in the forenoon. The rowers had worked without interruption for twenty-four hours, exclusive of the two hours'

rest at noon, and though somewhat tired were in good spirits.

[Salta Sangley ridge.] At half-past two we set out on the road over the Salta Sangley (Chinese leap) to Tragbucan, which, distant about a mile in a straight line, is situated at the place where the Calbayot, which empties on the west coast at Point Hibaton, becomes navigable for small boats. By means of these two rivers and the short but troublesome road, a communication exists between the important stations of Catarman on the north coast, and Calbayot on the west coast. The road, which at its best part is a small path in the thick wood uninvaded by the sun, and frequently is only a track, pa.s.ses over slippery ridges of clay, disappearing in the mud puddles in the intervening hollows, and sometimes running into the bed of the brooks. The watershed between the Catarman and Calbayot is formed by the Salta Sangley already mentioned, a flat ridge composed of banks of clay and sandstone, which succeed one another ladder-wise downwards on both its sides, and from which the water collected at the top descends in little cascades. In the most difficult places rough ladders of bamboo are fixed. I counted fifteen brooks on the north-east side which feed the Catarman, and about the same number of feeders of the Calbayot on the south-west side. About forty minutes past four we reached the highest point of the Salta Sangley, about ninety feet above the sea; and at half-past six we got to a stream, the highest part of the Calbayot, in the bed of which we wandered until its increasing depth forced us, in the dark, laboriously to beat out our path through the underwood to its bank; and about eight o'clock we found ourselves opposite the visita Tragbucan. The river at this place was already six feet deep, and there was not a boat. After shouting entreaties and threats for a long time, the people, who were startled out of sleep by a revolver shot, agreed to construct a raft of bamboo, on which they put us and our baggage. The little place, which consists of only a few poor huts, is prettily situated, surrounded as it is by wooded hillocks on a plateau of sand fifty feet above the reed-bordered river.

[On the Calbayot River.] Thanks to the activity of the teniente of Catarman who accompanied me, a boat was procured without delay, so that we were able to continue our journey about seven o'clock. The banks were from twenty to forty feet high; and, with the exception of the cry of some rhinoceros birds which fluttered from bough to bough on the tops of the trees, we neither heard nor saw a trace of animal life. About half-past eleven we reached Taibago, a small visita, and about half-past one a similar one, Magubay; and after two hours'

rest at noon, about five o'clock, we got into a current down which we skilfully floated, almost without admitting any water. The river, which up to this point is thirty feet broad, and on account of many projecting branches of trees difficult to navigate, here is twice as broad. About eleven at night we reached the sea, and in a complete calm rowed for the distance of a league along the coast to Calbayot, the convent at which place affords a commanding view of the islands lying before it.

A thunderstorm obliged us to postpone the journey to the chief town, Catbalogan (or Catbalonga), which was seven leagues distant, until the afternoon. In a long boat, formed out of the stem of one tree, and furnished with outriggers, we travelled along the sh.o.r.e, which is margined by a row of low-wooded hills with many small visitas; and as night was setting in we rounded the point of Napalisan, a rock of trachytic conglomerate shaped by perpendicular fissures with rounded edges into a series of projections like towers, which rises up out of the sea to the height of sixty feet, like a knight's castle. [Catbalogan.] At night we reached Catbalogan, the chief town of the island, with a population of six thousand, which is picturesquely situated in the middle of the western border, in a little bay surrounded by islands and necks of land, difficult to approach and, therefore, little guarded. Not a single vessel was anch.o.r.ed in the harbor.

The houses, many of which are of boards, are neater than those in Camarines; and the people, though idle, are more modest, more honorable, more obliging, and of cleaner habits, than the inhabitants of South Luzon. Through the courtesy of the governor I quickly obtained a roomy dwelling, and a servant who understood Spanish. [An ingenious mechanic.] Here I also met a very intelligent Filipino who had acquired great skill in a large variety of crafts. With the simplest tools he improved in many points on my instruments and apparatus, the purpose of which he quickly comprehended to my entire satisfaction, and gave many proofs of considerable intellectual ability.

[The flying monkey.] In Samar the flying monkey or lemur (the kaguang of the Bisayans--galeopithecus) is not rare. These animals, which are of the size of the domestic cat, belong to the quadrumana; but, like the flying squirrels, they are provided with a bird-like membrane, which, commencing at the neck, and pa.s.sing over the fore and hinder limbs, reaches to the tail; by means of which they are able to glide from one tree to another at a very obtuse angle. [168] Body and membrane are clothed with a very short fur, which nearly equals the chinchilla in firmness and softness, and is on that account in great request. While I was there, six live kaguangs arrived as a present for the priest (three light grey, one dark brown, and two greyish brown; all with irregularly distributed spots); and from these I secured a little female with her young.

[A hasty and unfounded judgment.] It appeared to be a very harmless, awkward animal. When liberated from its fetters, it remained lying on the ground with all its four limbs stretched out, and its belly in contact with the earth, and then hopped in short awkward leaps, without thereby raising itself from the ground, to the nearest wall, which was of planed boards. Arrived there, it felt about it for a long time with the sharp claw, which is bent inwards, of its fore-hand, until at length it realized the impossiblity of climbing it at any part. It succeeded by means of a corner or an accidental crevice in climbing a foot upwards, and fell down again immediately, because it had abandoned the comparatively secure footing of its hinder limbs before its fore-claws had obtained a firm hold. It received no hurt, as the violence of the fall was broken by the flying membrane which was rapidly extended. These attempts, which were continued with steady perseverance, showed an astonishing deficiency of judgment, the animal endeavoring to do much more than was in its power to accomplish. All its endeavors, therefore, were unsuccessful, though made without doing itself any hurt--thanks to the parachute with which Nature had provided it. Had the kaguang not been in the habit of relying so entirely on this convenient contrivance, it probably would have exercised its judgment to a greater extent, and formed a more correct estimate of its ability. The animal repeated its fruitless efforts so often that I no longer took any notice of it, and after some time it disappeared: but I found it again in a dark corner, under the roof, where it would probably have waited for the night in order to continue its flight. Evidently it had succeeded in reaching the upper edge of the boarded wall by squeezing its body between this and the elastic covering of bamboo hurdle-work which lay firmly imposed upon it; so that the poor creature, which I had rashly concluded was stupid and awkward, had, under the circ.u.mstances, manifested the greatest possible skill, prudence, and perseverance.

[A promise of rare animals and wild people.] A priest who was present on a visit from Calbigan promised me so many wonders in his district--abundance of the rarest animals, and Cimarrones uncivilized in the highest degree--that I accompanied him, on the following day, in his journey home. In an hour after our departure we reached the little island of Majava, which consists of perpendicular strata of a hard, fine-grained, volcanic tufa, with small, bright crystals of hornblende. The island of Buat (on Coello's map) is called by our mariners Tubigan. In three hours we reached Umauas, a dependency of Calbigan. It is situated, fifty feet above the sea, in a bay, before which (as is so often the case on this coast) a row of small picturesque islands succeed one another, and is exactly four leagues from Catbalogan. But Calbigan, which we reached towards evening, is situated two leagues N.N.E. from Umauas, surrounded by rice-fields, forty feet above the river of the same name, and almost a league and a half from its mouth. A tree with beautiful violet-blue panicles of blossoms is especially abundant on the banks of the Calbigan, and supplies a most valuable wood for building purposes in the Philippines. It is considered equal to teak, like which it belongs to the cla.s.s verbenaceae; and its inland name is [Molave.] molave (Vitex geniculata, Blanco).

[Serpent-charmers.] According to the statements of credible men, there are serpent-tamers in this country. They are said to pipe the serpents out of their holes, directing their movements, and stopping and handling them at will, without being injured by them. The most famous individual amongst them, however, had been carried off by the sea-pirates a short time before; another had run away to the Cimarronese in the mountains; and the third, whose reputation did not appear to be rightly established, accompanied me on my excursion, but did not justify the representations of his friends. He caught two poisonous serpents, [169] which we encountered on the road, by dexterously seizing them immediately behind the head, so that they were incapable of doing harm; and, when he commanded them to lie still, he took the precaution of placing his foot on their necks. In the chase I hurt my foot so severely against a sharp-pointed branch which was concealed by the mud that I was obliged to return to Catbalogan without effecting my object. The inhabitants of Calbigan are considered more active and circ.u.mspect than those on the west coast, and they are praised for their honesty. I found them very skilful; and they seemed to take an evident pleasure in making collections and preparing plants and animals, so that I would gladly have taken with me a servant from the place; but they are so reluctant to leave their village that all the priest's efforts to induce one to ride with us were fruitless.

[A coral garden.] At a short distance north-west from Catbalogan a most luxuriant garden of corals is to be observed in less than two fathoms, at the ebb. On a yellow carpet of calcareous polyps and sponges, groups of leather-like stalks, finger-thick, lift themselves up like stems of vegetable growth; their upper ends thickly covered with polyps (Sarcophyton pulmo Esp.), which display their roses of tentacula wide open, and resplendent with the most beautiful varying colors, looking, in fact, like flowers in full bloom. Very large serpulites extend from their calcareous tubes, elegant red, blue, and yellow crowns of feelers, and, while little fishes of marvellously gorgeous color dart about in this fairy garden, in their midst luxuriantly grow delicate, feathered plumulariae.

[Ornamental but useless forts.] Bad weather and the flight of my servant, who had gambled away some money with which he had been entrusted, at a c.o.c.k-fight, having detained me some days in the chief town, I proceeded up the bay, which extends southwards from Catbalogan and from west to east as far as Paranas. Its northern sh.o.r.e consists of ridges of earth, regular and of equal height, extending from north to south, with gentle slopes towards the west, but steep declivities on the east, and terminating abruptly towards the sea. Nine little villages are situated on this coast between Catbalogan and Paranas. From the hollows, amidst coco and betel palms, they expand in isolated groups of houses up the gentle western slopes, and, on reaching the summit, terminate in a little castle, which hardly affords protection against the pirates, but generally forms a pretty feature in the landscape. In front of the southern edge of the bay, and to the south-west, many small islands and wooded rocks are visible, with the mountains of Leyte in the high-ground, const.i.tuting an ever-shifting series of views.

[Paranas.] As the men, owing to the sultry heat, the complete calm, and almost cloudless sky, slept quite as much as they rowed, we did not reach Paranas before the afternoon. It is a clean village, situated on a declivity between twenty and a hundred and fifty feet above the sea. The sides, which stand perpendicularly in the sea, consist of grey banks of clay receding landwards, and overspread with a layer of fragments of mussels, the intervals between which are filled up with clay, and over the latter is a solid breccia, cemented with lime, composed of similar fragments. In the clay banks are well-preserved petrifactions, so similar in color, habitat, and aspect to many of those in the German tertiary formations that they might be taken for them. The breccia also is fossil, probably also tertiary; at all events, the ident.i.ty of the few species which were recognisable in it--Cerithium, Pecten, and Venus--with living species could not be determined. [170]

[A ca.n.a.l through the bog.] On the following morning I proceeded northwards by a small ca.n.a.l, through a stinking bog of rhizophora (mangroves), and then continued my journey on land to Loquilocun, a little village which is situated in the forest. Half-way we pa.s.sed through a river, twenty feet broad, flowing east to west, with steep banks rendered accessible by ladders.

[Hammock-travelling.] As I still continued lame (wounds in the feet are difficult to heal in warm countries), I caused myself to be carried part of the way in the manner which is customary hereabouts. The traveller lies on a loose mat, which is fastened to a bamboo frame, borne on the shoulders of four robust polistas. About every ten minutes the bearers are relieved by others. As a protection against sun and rain, the frame is furnished with a light roof of panda.n.u.s.

[Poor roads.] The roads were pretty nearly as bad as those at the Salta Sangley; and, with the exception of the sea-sh.o.r.e, which is sometimes available, there appear to be none better in Samar. After three hours we reached the Loquilocun, which, coming from the north, here touches its most southerly point, and then flows south-east to the great ocean. Through the kind care of the governor, I found two small boats ready, which were propelled with wonderful dexterity by two men squatted at the extreme ends, and [Running the rapids.] glided between the branches of the trees and rocks into the bed of the rapid mountain torrent. Amidst loud cheers both the boats glided down a cascade of a foot and a half in height without shipping any water.

[Loquilocun.] The little village of Loquilocun consists of three groups of houses on three hillocks. The inhabitants were very friendly, modest, and obliging, and so successful in collecting that the spirits of wine which I had with me was quickly consumed. In Catbalogan my messengers were able with difficulty to procure a few small flasks. Through the awkward arrangements of a too obliging friend, my own stores, having been sent to a wrong address, did not reach me until some months afterwards; and the palm-wine, which was to be bought in Samar, was too weak. One or two boats went out daily to fish for me; but I obtained only a few specimens, which belonged to almost as many species and genera. Probably the bad custom of poisoning the water in order to kill the fish (the pounded fruit of a Barringtonia here being employed for the purpose) is the cause of the river being so empty of fish.

[Numerous small streams.] After a few days we left the little place about half-past nine in the forenoon, packed closely in two small boats; and, by seven minutes past one when we reached an inhabited hut in the forest, we had descended more than forty streams of a foot and a foot and a half and more in depth. The more important of them have names which are correctly given on Coello's map; and the following are their distances by the watch:--At ten o'clock we came to a narrow, rocky chasm, at the extremity of which the water falls several feet below into a large basin; and here we unloaded the boats, which hitherto had, under skilful management, wound their way, like well-trained horses, between all the impediments in the bed of the river and over all the cascades and waves, almost without taking any water; only two men remaining in each boat, who, loudly cheering, shot downwards; in doing which the boats were filled to the brim.

[Jasper and Coal.] Opposite this waterfall a bank of rubbish had been formed by the alluvium, in which, besides fragments of the subjacent rock, were found well-rounded pieces of jasper and porphyry, as well as some bits of coal containing several pyrites, which had probably been brought during the rain from higher up the river. Its origin was unknown to the sailors. From fifty-six minutes past eleven to twelve o'clock there was an uninterrupted succession of rapids, which were pa.s.sed with the greatest dexterity, without taking in water. Somewhat lower down, at about three minutes past twelve, we took in so much water that we were compelled to land and bale it out. At about fifteen minutes past twelve, we proceeded onwards, the river now being on the average sixty feet broad. On the edge of the wood some slender palms, hardly ten feet high, were remarkable by their frequency, and many phalaenopses by their display of blossoms, which is of rare occurrence. Neither birds nor apes, nor serpents were observed; but large pythons, as thick as one's leg are said to be not unfrequent.

[Big pythons.] About thirty-six minutes past twelve we reached one of the most difficult places--a succession of waves, with many rocks projecting out of the water, between which the boats, now in full career, and with rapid evolutions, glided successfully. The adventure was accomplished with equal skill by the two crews, who exerted their powers to the utmost. At seventeen minutes past one we arrived at [Dini portage.] Dini, the most considerable waterfall in the whole distance; and here we had to take the boats out of the water; and, availing ourselves of the lianas which hung down from the lofty forest trees like ropes, we dragged them over the rocks. At twenty-one minutes past two we resumed our journey; and from twenty-two minutes past to half past eight we descended an irregular stair composed of several ledges, shipping much water. Up to this point the Loquilocun flowed in a rocky bed, with (for the most part) steep banks, and sometimes for a long distance under a thick canopy of boughs, from which powerful tendrils and ferns, more than a fathom in length, were suspended. Here the country was to some extent open; flat hillocks, with low underwood, came to view, and, on the north-west, loftier wooded mountains. The last two hours were notable for a heavy fall of rain, and, about half past five, we reached a solitary house occupied by friendly people, where we took up our quarters for the night.

[Down the river.] On the following morning the journey was continued down the river. Within ten minutes we glided past the last waterfall, between white calcareous rocks of a kind of marble, covered with magnificent vegetation. Branches, completely covered with phalaenopses (P. Aphrodite, Reichb. fls.), projected over the river, their flowers waving like large gorgeous b.u.t.terflies over its foaming current. Two hours later the stream became two hundred feet broad, and, after leaping down a ladder of fifty meters in height from Loquilocun, it steals away in gentle windings through a flat inundated country to the east coast; forming a broad estuary, on the right bank of which, half a league from the sea, the district of Jubasan or Paric (population 2,300) is situated. The latter give their names to the lower portion of the stream. Here the excellent fellows of Loquilocun left me in order to begin their very arduous return journey.

[Along the coast.] Owing to bad weather, I could not embark for Tubig (population 2,858), south of Paric, before the following day; and, being continually hindered by difficulties of land transit, I proceeded in the rowboat along the coast to Borongan (population 7,685), with the equally intelligent and obliging priest with whom I remained some days, and then continued my journey to Guiuan (also Guiuang, Guiguan), the most important district in Samar (population 10,781), situated on a small neck of land which projects from the south-east point of the island into the sea.

[A tideland spring.] Close to the sh.o.r.e at the latter place a copious spring bursts out of five or six openings, smelling slightly of sulphuretted hydrogen. It is covered by the sea during the flow, but is open during the ebb, when its salt taste is hardly perceptible. In order to test the water, a well was formed by sinking a deep bottomless jar, and from this, after the water had flowed for the s.p.a.ce of half an hour, a sample was taken, which, to my regret, was afterwards lost. The temperature of the water of the spring, at eight o'clock in the forenoon, was 27.7; of the atmosphere, 28.7; of the sea-water, 31.2C. The spring is used by the women to dye their sarongs. The materials, after being steeped in the decoction of a bark abounding in tannin (materials made of the abaca are first soaked in a calcareous preparation), and dried in the sun, are placed in the spring during the ebb, taken out during the flow, re-dried, dipped in the decoction of bark, and again, while wet, placed in the spring; and this is repeated for the s.p.a.ce of three days; when the result is a durable, but ugly inky black (gallussaures, oxide of iron).

[East Indian monkeys.] At Loquilocun and Borongan I had an opportunity of purchasing two live macaques. [171] These extremely delicate and rare little animals, which belong to the cla.s.s of semi-apes, are, as I was a.s.sured in Luzon and Leyte, to be found only in Samar, and live exclusively on charcoal. My first "mago" was, in the beginning, somewhat voracious, but he disdained vegetable food, and was particular in his choice of insects, devouring live gra.s.shoppers with delight. [172] It was extremely ludicrous, when he was fed in the day time, to see the animal standing, perched up perpendicularly on his two thin legs with his bare tail, and turning his large head--round as a ball, and with very large, yellow, owl-like eyes--in every direction, looking like a dark lantern on a pedestal with a circular swivel. Only gradually did he succeed in fixing his eyes on the object presented to him; but, as soon as he did perceive it, he immediately extended his little arms sideways, as though somewhat bashful, and then, like a delighted child, suddenly seizing it with hand and mouth at once, he deliberately tore the prey to pieces. During the day the mago was sleepy, short-sighted, and, when disturbed, morose; but with the decreasing daylight he expanded his pupils, and moved about in a lively and agile manner, with rapid noiseless leaps, generally sideways. He soon became tame, but to my regret died after a few weeks; and I succeeded only for a short time in keeping the second little animal alive.

CHAPTER XX

[Pearl divers from the Carolines.] In Guiuan I was visited by some Micronesians, who for the last fourteen days had been engaged at Sulangan on the small neck of land south-east from Guiuan, in diving for pearl mussels (mother-of-pearl), having undertaken the dangerous journey for the express purpose. [173]

[Hardships and perils of their voyage.] They had sailed from Uleai (Uliai, 7 20' N., 14357' E. Gr.) in five boats, each of which had a crew of nine men and carried forty gourds full of water, with coconuts and batata. Every man received one coconut daily, and two batatas, which they baked in the ashes of the coco sh.e.l.ls; and they caught some fish on the way, and collected a little rain-water. During the day they directed their course by the sun, and at night by the stars. A storm destroyed the boats. Two of them sank, together with their crews, before the eyes of their companions, and of these, only one--probably the sole individual rescued--two weeks afterwards reached the harbor of Tandag, on the east coast of Mindanao. The party remained at Tandag two weeks, working in the fields for hire, and then proceeded northwards along the coast to Cantilang, 8 25' N.; Banouan (called erroneously Bancuan by Coello), 9 1' N.; Taganaan, 9 25' N.; thence to Surigao, on the north point of Mindanao; and then, with an easterly wind, in two days, direct to Guiuan. In the German translation of Captain Salmon's "History of the Oriental Islands"

(Altona, 1733), it is stated that:

[Castaways from the Pelews.] "Some other islands on the east of the Philippines have lately been discovered which have received the name of the New Philippines because they are situated in the neighborhood of the old, which have been already described. Father Clan (Clain), in a letter from Manila, which has been incorporated in the 'Philosophical Transactions,' makes the following statement respecting them:--It happened that when he was in the town of Guivam, on the island of Samar, he met twenty-nine Palaos (there had been thirty, but one died soon after in Guiuan), or natives of certain recently discovered islands, who had been driven thither by the east winds, which prevail from December to May. According to their own statement, they were driven about by the winds for seventy days, without getting sight of land, until they arrived opposite to Guivam. When they sailed from their own country, their two boats were quite full, carrying thirty-five souls, including their wives and children; but several had died miserably on the way from the fatigue which they had undergone. When some one from Guivam wished to go on board to them, they were thrown into such a state of terror that all who were in one of the boats sprang overboard, along with their wives and children. However, they at last thought it best to come into the harbor; so they came ash.o.r.e on December 28, 1696. They fed on coconuts and roots, which were charitably supplied to them, but refused even to taste cooked rice, which is the general food of the Asiatic nations. [Previous castaways.] Two women who had previously been cast away on the same islands acted as interpreters for them....

[Lived by sea-fishing and rain water.] "The people of the country went half naked, and the men painted their bodies with spots and all kinds of devices.... As long as they were on the sea they lived on fish, which they caught in a certain kind of fish-basket, with a wide mouth but tapering to a point at the bottom, which was dragged along underneath the boats; and rain-water, when they could catch it (or, as is stated in the letter itself, preserved in the sh.e.l.ls of the coconut), served them for drink. When they were about to be taken into the presence of the Father, whom, from the great respect which was shown to him, they took for the governor, they colored their bodies entirely yellow, an operation which they considered highly important, as enabling them to appear as persons of consideration. They are very skilful divers, and now and then find pearls in the mussels which they bring up, which, however, they throw away as useless things."

[Not the first time for one.] But one of the most important parts of Father Clain's letter has been omitted by Capt. Salmon:--"The oldest of these strangers had once before been cast away on the coast of the province of Caragan, on one of our islands (Mindanao); but as he found only heathens (infidels), who lived in the mountains or on the desert sh.o.r.e, he returned to his own country."

[Yap camotes from Philippines.] In a letter from Father Cantova to Father d'Aubenton, dated from Agdana (i.e. Agana, of the Marianne Islands), March 20, 1722, describing the Caroline and Pelew Islands, it is said:--"The fourth district lies to the west. Yap (9 25' N., 138 1' E. Gr.), [174] which is the princ.i.p.al island, is more than forty leagues in circ.u.mference. Besides the different roots which are used by the natives of the island instead of bread, there is the batata, which they call camote, and which they have acquired from the Philippines, as I was informed by one of our Caroline Indians, who is a native of the island. He states that his father, named Coorr, ... three of his brothers, and himself had been cast away in a storm on one of the provinces in the Philippines, which was called Bisayas; that a missionary of our society (Jesus) received them in a friendly manner ... that on returning to their own island they took with them the seeds of different plants, amongst others the [Other arrivals of Micronesians.] batata, which multiplied so fast that they had sufficient to supply the other islands of the Archipelago with them." Murillo Velarde states that in 1708 some Palaos were wrecked in a storm on Palapag (north coast of Samar); and I personally had the opportunity, in Manila, of photographing a company of Palaos and Caroline islanders, who had been the year before cast on the coast of Samar by foul weather. Apart from the question of their transport, whether voluntary or not, these simply were six examples, such as still occur occasionally, of Micronesians cast up on the sh.o.r.e of the Philippines; and probably it would not be difficult to find several more; but how often, both before and after the arrival of the Spaniards, might not vessels from those islands have come within the influence of the north-east storms, and been driven violently on the east coast of the Philippines without any record of such facts being preserved? [175] Even as, on the west side of the Archipelago, the type of the race seems to have been modified by its long intercourse with China, j.a.pan, Lower India, and later with Europe, so likewise may Polynesian [Possible influence on Filipinos.] influences have operated in a similar manner on the east side; and the further circ.u.mstance that the inhabitants of the Ladrones [176] and the Bisayans [177]

possess the art of coloring their teeth black, seems to point to early intercourse between the Bisayans and the Polynesians. [178]

[A futile sea voyage in an open boat.] At Guiuan I embarked on board an inconveniently cranky, open boat, which was provided with an awning only three feet square, for Tacloban, the chief town of Leyte. After first experiencing an uninterrupted calm, we incurred great danger in a sudden tempest, so that we had to retrace the whole distance by means of the oars. The pa.s.sage was very laborious for the crew, who were not protected by an awning (temperature in the sun 35 R., of the water 25 R. [179]), and lasted thirty-one hours, with few intermissions; the party voluntarily abridging their intervals of rest in order to get back quickly to Tacloban, which keeps up an active intercourse with Manila, and has all the attractions of a luxurious city for the men living on the inhospitable eastern coast. [Beauty of Samar-Leyte strait.] It is questionable whether the sea anywhere washes over a spot of such peculiar beauty as the narrow strait which divides Samar from Leyte. On the west it is enclosed by steep banks of tuff, which tolerate no swamps of mangroves on their borders. There the lofty primeval forest approaches in all its sublimity close to the sh.o.r.e, interrupted only here and there by groves of cocos, in whose sharply defined shadows solitary huts are to be found; and the steep hills facing the sea, and numerous small rocky islands, are crowned with little castles of blocks of coral. At the eastern entrance of the strait the south coast of Samar consists of white limestone, like marble, but of quite modern date, which in many places forms precipitous cliffs. [180] At Nipa-Nipa, a small hamlet two leagues from Basey, they project into the sea in a succession of picturesque rocks, above one hundred feet in height, which, rounded above like a dome, thickly covered with vegetation, and corroded at the base by the waters of the sea, rise out of the waves like gigantic mushrooms. A peculiar atmosphere of enchantment pervades this locality, whose influence upon the native mariner must be all the more powerful when, fortunately escaping from the billows outside and the buffeting of the north-east wind, he suddenly enters this tranquil place of refuge. No wonder that superst.i.tious imagination has peopled the place with spirits.

[Burial caves.] In the caverns of these rocks the ancient Pintados interred the corpses of their heroes and ancestors in well-locked coffins, surrounded by those objects which had been held in the highest regard by them during life. Slaves were also sacrificed by them at their obsequies, in order that they might not be without attendance in the world of shadows; [181] and the numerous coffins, implements, arms, and trinkets, protected by superst.i.tious terrors, continued to be undisturbed for centuries. No boat ventured to cross over without the observance of a religious ceremony, derived from heathen times, to propitiate the spirits of the caverns who were believed to punish the omission of it with storm and ship-wreck.

[Objects destroyed but superst.i.tion persists.] About thirty years ago a zealous young ecclesiastic, to whom these heathen practices were an abomination, determined to extirpate them by the roots. With several boats well equipped with crosses, banners, pictures of saints, and all the approved machinery for driving out the Devil, he undertook the expedition against the haunted rocks, which were climbed amidst the sounds of music, prayers, and the reports of fireworks. A whole pailful of holy water first having been thrown into the cave for the purpose of confounding the evil spirits, the intrepid priest rushed in with elevated cross, and was followed by his faithful companions, who were fired with his example. A brilliant victory was the reward of the well-contrived and carefully executed plot. The coffins were broken to fragments, the vessels dashed to pieces, and the skeletons thrown into the sea; and the remaining caverns were stormed with like results. The objects of superst.i.tion have indeed been annihilated, but the superst.i.tion itself survives to the present day.

[Skulls from a rock near Basey.] I subsequently learned from the priest at Basey that there were still some remains on a rock, and a few days afterwards the worthy man surprised me with several skulls and a child's coffin, which he had had brought from the place. Notwithstanding the great respect in which he was held by his flock, he had to exert all his powers of persuasion to induce the boldest of them to engage in so daring an enterprise. A boat manned by sixteen rowers was fitted out for the purpose; with a smaller crew they would not have ventured to undertake the journey. On their return home a thunderstorm broke over them, and the sailors, believing it to be a punishment for their outrage, were prevented only by the fear of making the matter worse from throwing coffin and skulls into the sea. Fortunately the land was near, and they rowed with all their might towards it; and, when they arrived, I was obliged to take the objects out of the boat myself, as no native would touch them.

[The cavern's contents.] Notwithstanding, I was the next morning successful in finding some resolute individuals who accompanied me to the caverns. In the first two which we examined we found nothing; the third contained several broken coffins, some skulls, and potsherds of glazed and crudely painted earthenware, of which, however, it was impossible to find two pieces that belonged to each other. A narrow hole led from the large cavern into an obscure s.p.a.ce, which was so small that one could remain in it only for a few seconds with the burning torch. This circ.u.mstance may explain the discovery, in a coffin which was eaten to pieces by worms, and quite mouldered away, of a well-preserved skeleton, or rather a mummy, for in many places there were carca.s.ses clothed with dry fibers of muscle and skin. It lay upon a mat of panda.n.u.s, which was yet recognizable, with a cushion under the head stuffed with plants, and covered with matting of panda.n.u.s. There were no other remains of woven material. The coffins were of three shapes and without any ornament. Those of the first form, which were of excellent molave-wood, showed no trace of worm-holes or decay, whereas the others had entirely fallen to dust; and those of the third kind, which were most numerous, were distinguishable from the first only by a less curved form and inferior material.

[Impressive location of burial cave.] No legend could have supplied an enchanted royal sepulchre with a more suitable approach than that of the last of these caverns. The rock rises out of the sea with perpendicular sides of marble, and only in one spot is to be observed a natural opening made by the water, hardly two feet high, through which the boat pa.s.sed at once into a s.p.a.cious court, almost circular, and over-arched by the sky, the floor of which was covered by the sea, and adorned with a garden of corals. The steep sides are thickly hung with lianas, ferns, and orchids, by help of which one climbs upwards to the cavern, sixty feet above the surface of the water. To add to the singularity of the situation, we also found at the entrance to the grotto, on a large block of rock projecting two feet above the ground, [A sea snake.] a sea-snake, which tranquilly gazed at us, but which had to be killed, because, like all genuine sea-snakes, it was poisonous. Twice before I had found the same species in crevices of rock on the dry land, where the ebb might have left it; but it was strange to meet with it in this place, at such a height above the sea. It now reposes, as Platurus fasciatus Daud., in the Zoological Museum of the Berlin University.

[Chinese dishers from a cave.] In Guiuan I had an opportunity of purchasing four richly painted Chinese dishes which came from a similar cavern, and a gold signet ring; the latter consisting of a plate of gold, originally bent into a tube of the thickness of a quill with a gaping seam, and afterwards into a ring as large as a thaler, which did not quite meet. The dishes were stolen from me at Manila.

[Burial caves.] There are similar caverns which have been used as burial-places in many other localities in this country; on the island of Andog, in Borongan (a short time ago it contained skulls); also at Batinguitan, three hours from Borongan, on the banks of a little brook; and in Guiuan, on the little island of Monhon, which is difficult of approach by reason of the boisterous sea. In Catubig trinkets of gold have been found, but they have been converted into modern articles of adornment. One cavern at Lauang, however, is famous over the whole country on account of the gigantic, flat, compressed skulls, without sutures, which have been found in it.

[182] It will not be uninteresting to compare the particulars here described with the statements of older authors; and for this reason I submit the following extracts:--

[Embalming.] Mas (Informe, i. 21), who does not give the sources of his information, thus describes the customs of the ancient inhabitants of the archipelago at their interments:--They sometimes embalmed their dead with aromatic substances * * * and placed those who were of note in chests carved out of a branch of a tree, and furnished with well-fitted lids * * * The coffin was placed, in accordance with the wish of the deceased, expressed before his death, either in the uppermost room of the house, where articles of value were secreted, or under the dwelling-house, in a kind of grave, which was not covered, but enclosed with a railing; or in a distant field, or on an elevated place or rock on the bank of a river, where he might be venerated by the pious. A watch was set over it for a certain time, lest boats should cross over, and the dead person should drag the living after him.

[Burial customs.] According to Gaspar San Agustin (p. 169), the dead were rolled up in cloths, and placed in clumsy chests, carved out of a block of wood, and buried under their houses, together with their jewels, gold rings, and some plates of gold over the mouth and eyes, and furnished with provisions, cups, and dishes. They were also accustomed to bury slaves along with men of note, in order that they might be attended in the other world.

"Their chief idolatry consisted in the worship of those of their ancestors who had most distinguished themselves by courage and genius, whom they regarded as deities * * * * They called them humalagar, which is the same as manes in the Latin * * * Even the aged died under this conceit, choosing particular places, such as one on the island of Leyte, which allowed of their being interred at the edge of the sea, in order that the mariners who crossed over might acknowledge them as deities, and pay them respect." (Thevenot, Religieux, p. 2.)